All That Matters
by gryffindorfive-0
Summary: Steve, Danny, love, confusion... What really matters, though?
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so this is my first attempt of publishing a fanfiction story I've had in my head for quite a while now. The reason I chose Hawaii Five-O is cause the bromance between Steve & Danno just drives me insane with how amazing & sweet it is. So this me, running wild with that motive. Reviews/any sort of recognition would be appreciated. Thanks in advance & enjoy!**

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**All That Matters**

Danny has known Steve for about 4 years now, more or less. Danny knew all about Steve's struggles: As a kid, especially after his mother died. As a teenager & a young adult, going through the military & Navy Seal training. As an adult, his father's death. Danny also knew about Steve's love life, his infatuation with Catherine Rollins, Steve's girlfriend whom he cherished very much. Danny knew he was Steve's partner at work & his best friend, but what Danny didn't know just yet was what Steve would mean to him after the weekend getaway in the woods was over.

Background check, Danny Williams is a detective in Five-O, working along Steve, Chin, Kono, Max & the rest of HPD. He's a divorcee with one daughter, Grace, who means the **world **to him.

The weekend getaway in the woods was none other than Max's idea. He has always had this dream of camping in the woods with his friends for a whole weekend, so he suggested the idea to the Five-O & nobody minded it, well, except for the good old, classic, New Jersey-made Danny.

"What's wrong with watching football with your briefs on & ordering pizza, huh Max? Why does it have to be in the woods?" objected Danny as soon as Max proposed his idea.

"You don't have to come, Danny." Max answered with his usual serious tone.

Danny looked around to see what the rest of the team had to say, and he was secretly waiting for Steve's reaction the most, though he didn't know why.

"Oh come on, Danny, it'll be fun! We'll have barbeques & sing-a-longs & we'll make a camp fire..." said Kono with a smile on her thin face.

"…and build tents & have mud fights" continued her cousin, Chin, whose smile was even wider.

"and Kamekona will definitely come with, he'd get his portable freezer with him that have those shrimp pops you like & the oyster smoothie he's been bragging about" Kono finally said.

There was silence for about half a minute, everyone was looking at Steve so he can drop in another reason for Danny to come, but Steve was just looking at Danny & smiling. Danny was used to Steve's sudden staring, but this time, Danny felt something inside him that he hasn't felt in a while. Steve suddenly realizes everyone's stares & so he wipes that smile off his face & quickly says, "oh, come on Danny, it'll be fun. Just us, the Five-Os hanging out… We do need a couple of days off, you know."

Danny was intently listening to every word Steve uttered; the whole idea of the weekend getaway suddenly seemed alright right after Steve gave his opinion.

There was another silence.

"Fine." Danny finally said. "I'll go on your little trip, Max." Everyone exhaled with relief & let out brief, sweet laughs & patted Danny on the shoulders to show that they're glad he's coming along. Steve stayed put.

"Well, great then. I will be posting details about what to bring, what time to meet & where later on the Whatsapp group. So, stay connected." said Max, showing no enthusiasm whatsoever.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm, buddy" said Danny, letting out a small, nervous laugh, hoping he made Steve laugh.

Everybody laughed & left the lounge, except for Steve who was standing across where Danny was standing, leaning back at the wall on one leg, and the other on the wall with his hands crossed together, examining Danny with his blue eyes.

Danny felt nervous, so he started looking around, and then looked at Steve.

"What are you looking at?" asked Danny, ever so tense.

"Nothing." said Steve, with a smile appearing across his face gradually.

"Oh, nothing? Then why are you smiling like an idiot?" said Danny, his nerves getting the best of him.

A moment of silence took place & all those two did was look at each other in the eyes. Steve's eyes were smiling, Danny's eyes were wondering.

"Uhm… Alright then, I'm gonna go pick up Grace from school." Danny said, hesitantly.

Steve stayed in the same position but replied with a nod.

Danny felt shooked & walked away a little starstruck.

"_I've known Steve for such a long time now"_ he thought, _"and we have always been close & have always had a special relationship, but why is it that I am feeling what I'm feeling right now" _ A train of thought was forming in his mind until he stumbled on a stair & tripped. _"Dammit, Steve"_ he thought, and rushed towards the exit to meet his little girl as soon as the bell rings.


	2. Chapter 2

"How long will you be gone for, Danno?" Grace Williams worriedly asked her father who was packing his stuff before the Five-Os arrive to take him along to the weekend getaway he's not completely dreading now.

"Oh, just this weekend. You'll be okay at your mom's; she'll take you shopping & let you do all those stuff you girls do" he answered his short, thin, tanned daughter who looks so much like her mother but does have fatherly qualities, at least that's what Danny likes to convince himself with.

Grace approached her blonde father to help him organize his shirts & pants. He seemed to be taking shirts more than jackets & sweatshirts. "Danno!" she exclaimed, "You're not packing enough long-sleeved clothes, you'll freeze in the woods, especially at night… I'm a Brownie & I know what it's like out there" she added. Danny felt a little embarrassed; he was secretly hoping to freeze out there just so he can have the chance to borrow one of Steve's jackets or have him warm up his cold body. "_Snap out of it, Danny! You're a father for Christ's sake! Pack your own damn long sleeves." _A voice in Danny's head echoes to him; it sounded a lot like his father's grubby voice, but that voice had a point. He was a father & he had better concerns than how to make Steve appeal to him, physically.

"Danno?" Grace's voice suddenly interrupted Danny's train of thought. Danny snaps out of his Steve-bubble, shakes his head in panic & looks at his pride & joy, "You're right, monkey", he finally says & puts on a quick smile to make it seem like it's all okay. "I should pack some long sleeved shirts! Tell you what, you help daddy with that while I go to the bathroom & get my toiletries"

"Alright then", Grace agrees though she started getting suspicious. She's not seven anymore, you know.

Danny walks in his toilet. The off-white walls mirror his vague mood & thoughts, he looked around the little room, then his reflection in the mirror catches his eye. _"This is only a weekend getaway to bond with the Five-Os, nothing more, nothing less. No such thing as feelings for Steve, this is only emptiness trying to be filled" _Those thoughts are what seemed to calm Danny down. He reached for his toiletries & hurried back in the room so Grace wouldn't get even more suspicious.

Packing was all done & the father & his daughter were sitting on the grey coach Danny's had since forever now, just watching some Discovery Channel until Danny's phone rang. The caller ID read Steve & Danny's heart jumped with joy as soon as he read that name. _"Act cool, Danny!"_

"Steve" was Danny's "Hello"

"I'm outside your door, Danny. Come on out" Steve instructs

"I'm outside? What do you mean you're outside? Where's everyone else?" asks Danny, confused. Steve hangs up & so, Danny gets his stuff anyway & tells Grace to follow him outside. Grace gets up, turns off the tv & locks the door of Danny's apartment after they're both outside.

"The team had an early start to scout for a good location, so I'll be your driver for today. Oh, & Grace, I'll be dropping you off your mother's" Steve explains as soon as Danny turns to him, wanting an explanation. "Thanks, Uncle Steve!" Grace says & rushes to the backseat. Danny's still dumbfounded, standing infront of Steve who was in Danny's silver Camaro which he never gave Danny back. Why didn't Steve simply say that he & Danny should come along to go scout as well? Does he want some alone time? Though Steve knows how much Danny hates it when Steve drives. Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts... But Danny controlled himself this time. "First of all, you still haven't given me my car & car keys back" Danny started, & Steve rolled his eyes cause he knew that was another one of Danny's long lectures about Steve's 'behaviour'. "Second of all, hey, don't roll your eyes, Steve! Why didn't you tell me this sudden change of plans?!"

There was a moment of silence, Garce was giggling at the back.

"Why are you all worked up? We're late now, aren't we Grace?" replied Steve, so playfully.

Grace nodded & started laughing. Danny just kept looking at those two, feeling like he's being ganged up on (which he is). Danny felt frozen, what is there to do or say now? So he just got busy on a random weather application on his cell phone till the awkwardness died away or something.

"Danny!" Steve exclaims after a little while & then gets out of the car only to approach his deluded partner. Danny notices cargo pants & grey boots under his eye-level, so he raises his head, leaving the weather report he was reading, only to find himself nose-to-nose to an angry Steve McGarrett. "Let's go!" Steve instructs & extends his arm behind Danny. Danny's heart fell, thinking Steve was going to do something, especially that Grace was watching, but in reality, Steve was just grabbing Danny's & Grace's suitcase to put them in the trunk & get going already. Steve walks away & Danny exhales, shakes his head & smiles on. Grace is still watching, you know.

Grace was dropped off to her mother's & the two guys were cruising alone in the car. The ride to Rachel, Danny's ex-wife & Grace's mother, was not so bad. It was 99% of time, Grace talking about her life at school, with her friends, the baseball team, & basically everything Grace-related. The trio was very integrated in the conversation; Steve was asking her all about her love-life & trying to give her tips on how to handle her crushes while Danny was constantly shutting him up & warning Grace about boys & their intentions

"You are such an awful father, you know that?" Steve said as soon as Grace enters her mother's house. "Are you talking to me?" Danny says, a little surprised. "I sure am!" Steve exclaims. "Oh, so, so Steve McGarrett has an objection about MY parenting! That's new!" Danny answers & lets out a nervous laugh. "What do you suggest I change in the way I parent Grace?" Steve starts laughing at Danny's hysteria & then says, "You just gotta let her experience everything with boys & stuff." Danny just looks at his partner as if he has seen a ghost. "How about you try getting us safe to the woods now, & let me worry about how I raise my daughter. Let her talk to boys… The girl can barely talk to a shopkeeper!" Danny kept muttering words to himself after that sudden explosion of defensiveness. Steve started laughing & shaking his head & Danny just went back to the weather report he was reading earlier. Another cargument… Check!

"_I am not the bad father Steve thinks I am. Grace knows that, Rachel knows that, I know that! He doesn't know anything, but I can't let him think that way… Oh, he's probably messing around. Yes, he is. I can hear him laughing. Oh God, here I am thinking like a girl again… and I'm thinking of Steve! I still don't get why he didn't tell me about the change of plans. I should just..." _Something seemed to interrupt Danny's inner voice-of-wisdom. _"...Just…" _What is it!

"DANNY!" it was Steve, yelling his name. Danny realized he has been called at for the past minute so he quickly responds, all shaken up "Y-yes! Yes!"

"You seemed so connected with that weather report. What does it say?" Steve asks with a much softer tone. But Danny hasn't been reading that darn weather report, so he had to think fast. "Well, the weather's perfect! This getaway was on-point." He answers. Steve dashes a smile & keeps driving. Danny turns on the radio for some music & some distraction from that train of thought he's not seeming to get off from.


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys have no idea how thankful I am for all your hits & follows & reviews. MAHALO MAHALO MAHALO. As you can see, I'm super excited for this story, I have no idea why. I just seem to write chapters day after day, it's just the editing that's time-consuming (but it's all worth it). Just wanna add a not here: Sometimes, I refer to Danny as Danno, so in the same paragraph, you might come across 2 Danno's & 3 Danny's, so just to spare the confusion.. THEY ARE THE SAME DANNY WHOM WE LOVE & CHERISH! MAHALO guys again for being my motivation. Read on!**

******Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of characters/settings... Shit that hurts.**

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"_How about a kiss, Danno?"_

A distant voice that sounded like Steve called

"_Danno! How about a kiss?"_

Steve's voice seemed to come closer

"_DANNO!"_

Now Danny woke up, startled, only to see Steve's perfectly-made face inches away from his own. Steve's perfume filling Danny's nostrils, making him feel tingly in the gut. "You fell asleep back there. I was asking you to help me carry this" & Steve immediately pointed at the luggage that was now out of the trunk. "Danno, come carry this!"

Danny was disappointed after he figured that the sentence he actually heard whilst dreaming was just a twist of what Steve was actually saying created by his unconscious which probably stood for extreme desire.

"So I take this as a sign that we arrived?" Danny asked Steve who is now carrying two suitcases & heading straight towards the silhouettes of what looked like the Five-0 team.

"Yep" Steve answered, he was struggling with the weight the suitcases were exerting so Danny rushed to aid his gorgeous partner. Steve & Danny exchanged glances & Steve gave him a smile of gratitude & the duo made their way to the rest of their crew.

"Hey! You two finally made it!" Chin greeted his co-workers. "Well Chin, you know me, always fashionably late" joked Steve. The two laughed & pound hugged. The rest of the team came around to greet the two guys. They all exchanged hugs & greetings. Then, Danny & Steve looked around the magnificent camp site that has been set up by their comrades.

There were three tents put up in a specific order: The beige one was for Kono & Chin, the larger gray one was for Max & Steve, & the largest red one was for Kamekona & Danny.

There were chairs everywhere & a few logs were collected for the camp-fire later that night. There were 4 coolers that contained ice, water, drinks & some foods like chocolate, chicken, meat, shrimp, bread & cheese. Max has set up a table for his laptop & a mini-satellite connected to his laptop for internet purposes. There were also speakers & an iPad playing Hawaiian folk music in a low, almost inaudible volume.

"I thought this was a no-technology camp?" Danny inquired as he saw all the gadgets lying around, "And where are you getting the electricity from?"

"On the contrary, my dear Danny" Max quickly answered, raising his eye-sight from his jet black laptop which he seemed super-focused on & directing it towards Danny's figure. "Nobody said this camp had no gadgets included. These gadgets work on the power of sunlight. As you can see, the speakers have sun-light receptors which turn the energy it catches from the sun into electricity & molecules that help the speakers function. As for my laptop, it's running on a battery I designed which lasts around 72 hours if used moderately, which of course, is my amount of usage. But the iPad, well it's not mine, so I'm not really concerned."

Danny was astounded by the speed at which Max can pronounce & annunciate perfectly. As for his scientific genius, he was so used to that "You seem well equipped here Max, though usually in normal camps, having a gadget with you is pretty much frowned upon 'cause camps are usually for nature-love purposes & so-"

"-Just shut up & embrace it, Williams" interrupted Kono, carrying some a few more logs she went to fetch as soon as him & Steve arrived. Danno smiled & helped her with the carrying which then ended as they placed the logs with the rest of the lot. Kamekona, Steve & Chin broke out a game of cards on one of the benches that were on camp site, but the weather, to Danny, was just right to sit, drink an ice-cold beer, inhale fresh, clean air & just relax.

Danny laid back & enjoyed the peace of mind he was in, forgetting his emotional conflicts, work-related stress, everything there is… His eyes were closed, he was surrounded by the mountain breeze, had ice cold water dripping from the beer bottle in his hands, he was drowning out all the noises surrounding him & just focusing on one thing… Grace.

He was thinking of Grace; remembering her birth, her first words, her first steps, the first time she smiled, the first time she said "Danno", the way she used to say "sudelkaket" instead of "supermarket", Danny had the biggest grin on his face & he didn't even know it, he kept remembering the little things she used to do when she was a toddler & he was now thinking of how she's all grown up & slowly turning into a young lady. Grace was his world & he couldn't help but always think of her wherever he went, she's his priority & his reason… she's his Monkey. Unconsciously though, Steve walks in to his thoughts so suddenly, taking over what was Grace's stage in Danny's thoughts. Steve was smiling at Danno, looking even more perfect than he already is in reality; his hair was shinier, his skin was brighter & his smile was even more breath-taking. Danno was smiling back without even knowing it, his grin growing even wider. "There's something about you, Danno, have I ever told you?" said the Steve in Danny's thoughts, whose voice was still stern, yet equally mesmerizing & compassionate. Steve was now walking closer towards Danny, who was feeling helpless, aiming his lips to his partner's. Everything was finally falling into place, everything seemed so strangely right, until Danny opened his eyes. He was feeling some sort of terror, but a good kind of terror, whatever that is! He awoke only to find Kono snapping pictures of him & her sweet laughter filled the campsite, he snatched her cellphone & saw how he was… Dreaming with his eyes closed but with a super-wide smile; he looked like a total creep.

"Now, THAT's creepy!" Steve said who is suddenly behind Danny, looking at that exact picture & laughing. Danny deletes the image (but there were tons others he had no idea about) & laughs back to show those two that he doesn't care.

Hours passed by & the crew had always something to do. After the "funny" incident with Danno's creepiness, everybody joined in Chin, Kamekona & Steve's game of cards, where everyone was split into pairs & well, Max & Kono eventually won Chin & Danny's team, as well as Kamekona's & Steve's. After that, Steve & Kono went to collect logs from the woods before it got too dark, Chin broke out his painting kit & started working on his hidden talent (painting) as he painted trees & birds which he saw all around, Kamekona was sitting in silence but probably thinking of how dinner will be prepped, Max was back behind his laptop working on a software of his own or a new experiment or, well, who knows. Everyone was busy except for Danny, who was left alone trying to figure out how to kill time, so he asked a question which, apparently, no one had the answer to.

"So where do we shower?"


End file.
